Amazon introduced a host of new advertising features for sellers at unBoxed 2022 in New York. Channel Key attends unBoxed each year to learn about the most recent innovations and enhancements that will make it easier for brands to scale their brand on and off Amazon. We understand it can be challenging to keep up with Amazon’s ever-changing platform – especially when you are focused on running your business. To help your brand remain at the forefront, we’ve compiled the most important updates to Amazon Ads revealed at unBoxed 2022.
Sponsored Display Video Creative
Sponsored Display now supports video ad creative worldwide. All sellers have access to an expanded public beta program for Video Builder to create videos with ready-to-use customizable templates. Using available product and lifestyle images, brands can easily build video creatives in less than 10 minutes at no extra cost. You can also expand your use of video campaigns and experiment with creative variations to maximize engagement. According to a third-party study conducted by Wyzowl, 73% of consumers say they prefer video ads to learn about products and services, while 88% say video ads have convinced them to make a purchase.
Rewarded Sponsored Display Ads
Brands will soon be able to add an Amazon shopping credit directly into Sponsored Display ads. This is an expansion of the rewarded ads option available on Twitch and Fire T.V. Customers can receive Amazon shopping or entertainment credits by taking a specific action, such as watching a video or signing up for a newsletter. This incentivizes customers to interact with your campaigns. In a 2021 Amazon Ads survey of U.S. Amazon shoppers, 92% of respondents said they were more likely to take action if offered an Amazon shopping credit. Rewarded Sponsored Display ads will be available soon to U.S. advertisers in closed beta.
Sponsored Display for Non-Endemic Brands
Amazon Ads is opening Sponsored Display for brands that do not sell on the Amazon marketplace. Sponsored Display for non-endemic brands is now available for U.S. advertisers in closed beta on Twitch. Businesses that sell products and services in verticals not available on Amazon, like restaurants and hotels, can now use Sponsored Display to reach the highly-engaged Twitch audience. This announcement comes as Amazon continues to expand its advertising services to brands outside of its platform, such as the powerful Amazon DSP (Demand Side Platform) program. Over time, Channel Key expects Amazon to announce more features to help non-endemic brands reach customers.
Sponsored Products Campaigns with Presets
Presets for Sponsored Products campaigns are now automatically featured in the ads console for new products (for U.S. advertisers). Presets enable Amazon Ads to recommend relevant campaign settings, including daily budgets and bidding strategies. This helps remove the ambiguity of starting a new campaign or launching a new product on Amazon. When you log in to the ads console, you will see recommendations on how to set up ready-to-launch campaigns, saving time and helping drive results from the onset. According to Amazon Ads, campaigns launched with presets enjoyed a 77% increase in clicks and a 29% increase in conversions.
Real-Time Performance Recommendations for Sponsored Products
Amazon Ads unveiled performance recommendations that will be available in 10 countries in November. Performance recommendations are in-console, actionable best practices for Sponsored Products campaigns. As advertisers use the ads console, performance recommendations work in the background, constantly looking for Sponsored Products campaign tips that can be adopted with one click, such as new keywords to prioritize or bid suggestions. This gives advertisers real-time feedback to improve their campaign performance based on tested and validated best practices.
Digital Signage in Physical Amazon Stores
A new Amazon DSP feature enables brands to programmatically create campaigns that run in physical stores. Advertising on digital store signage was previously available only through sponsorships. Eligible U.S. brands will now be able to use Digital Signage Ads in Amazon DSP to promote products in Amazon Fresh stores. Campaigns can be scheduled based on store location, by daypart, or by location of the digital signage within the store. This creates more opportunities for brand discovery and will enhance the customer shopping experience by creating a wider variety of in-store ads.
Measuring the Incremental Reach of Streaming TV Ads
Amazon Ads introduced Amazon Streaming T.V. incremental household reach, a new enhancement to its Streaming T.V. ads solution. Incremental household reach is a post-campaign reporting solution that helps brands measure the unique, incremental audience reached through Amazon Streaming T.V. Ads campaigns – above and beyond their linear T.V. campaigns. This solution ensures accurate, aggregated results by combining first-party and third-party signals, augmented by machine leaning-based-projections. With in-flight reporting, brands can stay informed and make optimizations during campaigns.
Channel Key Takeaway
Amazon’s unBoxed conference is one of the most notable events for sellers. This in-person event features keynote announcements, access to breakout sessions, product deep dives, recommendations from advertising leadership, hands-on training, after-hours events, and much more. Many of the updates revealed at this year’s event show that Amazon is continuing to prioritize video advertising as well as reaching customers off the platform. As we move into the holiday season and close out 2022, Channel Key forecasts an exciting year ahead for both endemic and non-endemic brands.
